


Even the Devil was Once an Angel

by Gwendolynn_C



Category: We Know the Devil (Visual Novel)
Genre: Christianity according to canon, Cults, Eating Disorders, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Magic according to canon, Mental Health Issues, Misgendering, Parental Abuse, Pre-Canon, Underage Drinking, Vomiting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-13
Packaged: 2018-08-14 22:52:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8032147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gwendolynn_C/pseuds/Gwendolynn_C
Summary: Three times Jupiter knew she was going to campTwo times Neptune was told she was going to campOne time Venus learned about camp





	1. Jupiter

**Author's Note:**

> I put warnings in the tags but I don't think the content is much worse than what we see in canon. Come talk to me on tumblr @ jupiters-hands

Jupiter has three younger sisters which means every morning she wakes up and makes six braids while she waits for curling iron to heat up so she can pin her hair up. The worst thing about puberty isn’t the periods – her Dad sneaks her tampons so she only has to use the cloth pads at night. The worst thing is the loose curls that frame her face and get in her eyes and stick to the back of neck like a constant reminder that someone has their eyes on her.

She hasn’t even had time to turn her iron on when her Mother asks her to come down to the living room. Her Dad is there and she’s too surprised to hug him. Her Mother hands her a glossy, colored pamphlet and she shivers in her nightgown as she reads it.

She’s almost finished with the inside flaps when her mother clears her throat and reads the whole thing out like she’s declaring the scripture.

“When do I leave?” Jupiter asks.

Her mother looks surprised, as if she’d been expecting questions. “Three days. Your Father went when he was young, he’s here to help you get supplies. Bug spray and flashlights and… things like that.”

Jupiter nods.

“Go get dressed.” Her dad says. “We’ll get breakfast on the way.”

Jupiter slips quietly past her brothers’ room and into the room she shares with her sisters. She digs out a pair of jeans from under a drawer full of skirts. Her mother says jeans are only for shoveling snow in the winter. She pulls her hair into a ponytail. Her Dad never tells her what to wear.

Her Dad’s waiting in her truck. She doesn’t bother saying goodbye to her praying Mother.

“Did you really go to this camp?” Jupiter asks her Dad once he’s on the road.

Her Dad drinks from a bottle covered in a brown paper bag. “Yeah. It’s… not so bad. The devil hardly ever kills anyone.”

Jupiter tugs her sleeves over her wrists, just in case. Just in case the thin white lines decorating her upper arm are somehow visible. Her skin itches, aches impossibly hard. She wraps her fingers delicately around the neck of the bottle resting in the center console and takes a drink of the bitter liquid. She glances at her Dad. He’s smiling.

“You’re a good kid, Jupiter.” Her Dad tells her. “Just keep your head down and you’ll make it through. I did and look how great my life is! Your Mother told me she might let me back in the house soon.”

Jupiter laughs. It’s a joke they share. How much better could her Dad’s life be?

The man who rings them up at the camping store is young and has styled his hair in a way Jupiter’s never seen before. Her Dad stays at the register and talks to the blushing cashier for over half an hour. She lets her mind wander and pretends he’s smiling at her and that she’s smiling at him and that she and her Dad are purchasing items for a Father-Daughter camping trip in woods that don’t hide the devil.

* * *

_ One Year Later _

“Good job, Jupiter. I can see camp had a good effect on you.” Her mother sounds proud.

Her dad moves back in for three months and it’s the longest he’s stayed since they switched churches four years ago.

“Jupiter, is this how a young, Christian lady acts? I guess those camp lessons only last for so long.” Her mother sounds hurt.

The day after Christmas their whole family attends a healing Mass. The priest blesses her and her Dad and her littlest brother. Jupiter cries and everyone blames the movement of the spirit inside of her; she’s never felt more empty.

“Jupiter, you better watch your attitude, you’re begging to be sent back to camp this summer.” Her mother sounds furious.

Her mother confronts her with a strange looking printout. It’s their internet history which doesn’t make sense because she knows all about incognito mode and erasing history. Her Dad’s expression is dark and desperate. He just moved back in two weeks ago. Her littlest sister hugged him for the first time yesterday.

“When does camp start?” Jupiter asks, her voice shaking.

“Tomorrow.” Her mother replies sharply. “So get your bags packed, we have to leave tonight.”

* * *

_ One Year Later _

**Snap. Snap. Snap.**

She gets a bruise on the inside of her wrist from snapping her elastic so much. Or maybe the bruise is from something else? She looks at her Dad’s hands, they’re rough and strong; strong enough to- 

She changes which wrist she snaps her elastic on.

**Snap. Snap. Snap.**

A new family joins their church. They have a girl exactly Jupiter’s age.

“You should run.” Jupiter tells her, keeping her eyes carefully trained on a zit on the other girl’s nose.

“What?”

“In our races.” Jupiter explains. “While the adults have an extra Bible study, we run relays outside. You look like you’d be fast.”

“I am.” She smiles. 

Jupiter looks away.

**Snap. Snap. Snap.**

“Why are you packing your bag?” Jupiter’s brother asks.

“Camp’s coming up.” She replies and counts her panties, she kept running out of clean panties the past two summers.

“I thought you were better now.”

Jupiter laughs.


	2. Neptune

Sometimes Neptune hates herself. A lot of the time Neptune hates herself.

“I  _ knew  _ I should have ditched David and gone to the movies today.” She’s twisted the glossy pamphlet in her hands so the white kids’ frozen smiles are distorted and the images of the Crucifix are warped so Jesus appears tortured rather than resurrected. It looks better this way.

“Well I’m glad you didn’t, mija.” Her mother is carefully reading her own pamphlet through reading glasses that used to have tiny plastic rhinestones in the corner but have fallen out years ago. “This camp looks like a good opportunity. Your father said he knows someone who works there? That’s good.”

“I am not going.” Neptune snorts.

“That’s for your father and I to decide.”

Her mother rubs her back soothingly for several long minutes, humming quietly. Eventually she breaks the spell by asking. “Did you eat dinner?”

“Yes.” Neptune never lies to her mother, not really.

“Well, head to bed. It’s past midnight.”

Neptune swears under her breath and obeys. As she falls asleep she thinks about different things she could use to barter with her friend Esperanza to set a curse on David.

* * *

“I don’t understand why you’re here.” Neptune says again. “And I don’t understand why you wore that skirt.”

Her mother tosses her long, dark hair over her shoulder. Neptune doesn’t remember the last time she saw her Mother wear her hair down or the last time she wasn’t wearing scrubs or sweats and a t-shirt. She looks beautiful. Would she had worn something like this to Neptune’s Junior High graduation ceremony, had she been able to get the time off?

“Your Father and I have something to discuss with you.” Her mother says, eyes trained on the menu.

“It better not be about that shitty camp he wants me to go to.”

“Neptune. Charming as always.” David sits across from them, suit sharp, hair combed carefully over his bald skull and smirk permanently pasted on his face. He always looks like he thinks he’s the smartest person in the room which is a shame because Neptune  _ knows  _ she’s smarter than him. She  _ knows  _ she can outsmart it. Esperanza’s cards had predicted it.

“Hello David.” Her mother’s voice soft and sweet. David does not deserve that tone of voice.

“Hi David, how’s your wife and kids?” Neptune asks.

“You know; I hope one of these days you can call me Dad.” He replies and motions for the waiter to come over.

“Fathers don’t abandon their infant children, David.” Neptune replies easily.

“Neptune.” Her mother hisses.

“No, Krissy, it’s alright.” David replies easily. “She holds a lot of resentment in her heart for me and I deserve that. In my past, I was not a good man. I had sex outside of marriage, I abandoned you two, I cheated my clients at work and I never went to Church – never even thought about it. I know my sins. But all that’s changed now.”

“Jesus Christ.” Neptune groans, because she’s heard this once a week for the past three months. When they received a handwritten letter from David, asking for a chance to speak with her and her Mother, Neptune was in favor of burning it. Her mother probably would have been too except for the magic words: Child Support.

“Yes, exactly.” David’s grin widens impossibly showing off a row of even, straight teeth. “Jesus Christ scooped me out of my indifference and selfishness and I knew that I had to make amends. I learned that God is my good Father and I need to be a good Father too, to all my children. I need to be a reflection of God in your life. I learned all this at a retreat that’s not too different from that camp I told you about. Have you thought about it at all?”

“The pamphlet wasn’t very informative.” Her Mother cuts in. “Do they have a website? There wasn’t one listed.”

“I don’t think so.” David rubs his chin. “Technology is so often co-opted by the devil, that programs like these tend to stick to safer items like landlines and radios. Hey Neptune, you ever heard of a radio?”

It’s like an alien trying to make an inside joke. Neptune just stares.

“Let’s order food.” Her mother changes the topic.

* * *

“Oh no.” Neptune stomps her foot and the crystals on the table by the door shake. “You are not welcome in my home.”

“David is that you?” Her mother calls out. “Just give me a moment to take down the wards and-”

“He’s not fucking welcome!” Neptune shouts.

Her mother pauses brushing down her clothes. “Give us a moment, David.”

Neptune closes the door in his face. “Mama, he’s not coming in, I don’t even know what he’s doing here.”

“I invited him over.”

“What?”

“I invited him over.”

Neptune just stares. She can feel her stomach turn over painfully. “Mama, you’ve sold one hour of my week to him. And I get it, we need the money for heating this winter but this is too damn far.”

“Watch your mouth young lady, this is my home too-”

“You’re  _ never  _ home!” Neptune interrupts.

“I can invite your Father over if I want to.” Her mother finishes, then sighs and rubs at her eyes. “Has your Father ever made you feel unsafe or violated in any way? Do you have any real reason to believe that he has anything in mind except making amends and building a relationship with you?”

“He’s a creepy Jesus weirdo!”

“I’m taking down the wards and letting him in.”

Neptune’s stomach contracts and she can feel the acid burning inside of her, for a moment she thinks she’s going to vomit right there in their living room. Instead, a piercing shriek erupts from her and she isn’t sure how long it takes for her to calm down.

She’s in her bedroom, lying on the floor with a sachet resting on her chest (it’s the blue one and she can smell lavender and chamomile) and in her fist is a cross which she immediately throws out the window.

She can hear her mom and David talking in the other room and cracks the door open to eavesdrop.

“- running wild.” David is saying.

“I’ve tried to be a good parent. I don’t know what I did wrong.” Her mom’s voice sounds heavy, the way it does when she talks about a long shift at works. She doesn’t talk about Neptune like that.

“Don’t blame yourself, Krissy.” David sounds  _ proud _ . “It’s my fault. If I had been the man you needed, the father Neptune needed, she wouldn’t have turned out to be such a bad kid.”

“You really think this camp is a good idea?”

“Absolutely. Emily’s cousin’s neighbor sent his kid there a few years ago. Now he’s engaged to a beautiful girl and studying at seminary.” 

Emily is David’s wife who bore David three athlete sons.

“I called the main office.” Her mom says. “They said they have lots of cases for kids who are mentally ill as well. Says they have a team of therapists on their staff. Neptune’s… tantrums have been getting more frequent. I’m sorry you had to see that one today, I think leaving her alone so often wasn’t good for her but after she turned ten I just couldn’t afford after school care.”

“Like I said, I blame myself for this. And Neptune’s a good candidate in so many ways. I mean, have you seen the way she dresses? Emily says it’s harder to girls to find modest things these days, but that should really be her top priority with the way boys are these days. And how much do you know about this friend Esperanza? She picked Neptune up from one of our lunches.”

“I know they’re close.”

“Well that’s certain but it seems… unnaturally close.”

And that’s it! Neptune can handle bitches at school gossiping about her behind her back, but not David who doesn’t even know her; not her mother.

She slams the door open. “Esperanza and I aren’t fucking!”

The look on David’s face makes her want to keel over laughing.

The look on her mom’s face makes her want to drop to her knees and sob.

“And even if we were, it wouldn’t be any of your damn business!” Neptune shouts. “Being gay isn’t wrong, no one believes that anymore, not even Christians!”

Her Mother bites her lip. “David, I’m not sure-”

“Neptune is bulimic.” David crosses his arms.

Neptune feels bile creep up her esophagus and fill her mouth with a sweet taste. She feels a blush creep up her chest and stain her dark skin.

“That’s not-” Her mother stutters. “I know I’m a bad mom but I would have noticed if-”

“No.” Neptune shakes her head. She can lie about this one thing. She can deny this one, objectively evil part of herself. “I don’t know what he’s talking about.”

“I had my pastor do some scrying.” David says. “I can have him call you if you want proof. Krissy, wake up, your daughter is sick in her body, mind and soul. I’m offering you the opportunity to fix her.”

Her mother wrings her hands. “I- I don’t- Neptune, tell me-”

And Neptune vomits on the kitchen floor.

* * *

_ One Year Later _

“Please don’t make me go back, Mama.” Neptune’s crying. There are actual tears on her face, wet and hot and desperate. “I hated it there. I hated it.”

“You hate school, should I let you drop out?” Her Mother’s fingers rub the small golden cross that hangs around her neck. It was a Christmas gift from David. Neptune had flushed her own necklace down the toilet along with the turkey dinner.

“School is different!”

“Because your girlfriend is there?” Her mother sighs. “Honey, you’re promiscuous and you haven’t gained any weight either. You’re going back to camp.”

That night as Neptune falls asleep, images play against the back of her eyelids. The devil, standing right in front her full of leaves and smelling like cherries and it  _ wanted  _ her. And she wanted it.

_ It’s going to be me.  _ She thinks to herself.  _ This year, the devil is me. _

 


	3. Venus

Venus sat cross legged on his sister’s floor and watched as she painted her toenails a sparkly blue.

“Camp is alright, I guess, if you’re a nerd.” She says, looking intently at her toes. “Which you are, so I’m sure you’ll have a fine time.”

Venus lays on his back and stares up at the ceiling, the cracks in the plaster seem to follow a pattern but he can’t quite parse out what it is. “What if I’m no good?”

His sister snorts. “There’s nothing to be good at. They teach you everything you need to know in the first couple days. I didn’t even know what a transformation sequence  _ was  _ last year and you do those all the time with Dad so you’re ahead of the game. You have nothing to worry about.”

Venus sighed deeply. “What if I’m  _ too _ good? What if I don’t want to be the nerd?”

“V, the best thing about camp is that you can recreate yourself. No one from school will be there, no one will know anything about you unless you tell them. You can be the awesome jock who’s good at magic and gets all the girls. You could, like, actually get your first kiss this summer.”

Venus wants a subject change. “Will you paint my nails?”

“Sure, pick a color. The green I just bought will bring out your eyes.”

There’s a knock on door; it opens and Venus finds himself looking upside down at his Dad.

“Venus.” His Dad rubs at the back of his neck. “There’s something your Mom and I need to talk to you about. Come to the kitchen for a minute?”

Venus’ sister pats his leg. “I’ll paint your nails when you come back.”

His Dad winces. “That might not be the best idea, kiddos. Just… come on Venus.”

Venus follows, carefully tapping each bar under the railing as he goes downstairs. His mom is sitting on the couch, her usually sunny smile replaced with a somber grimace as she serves a strange woman tea in their fine china tea-set. He knows the tea-set was a wedding gift but he’s never actually see anyone in his family use them except for on his sixth birthday when he wanted to invite all of his teddy bears to a birthday tea.

Venus shoves his hands deep into his pockets and doesn’t sit down. “What’s up?”

He’s trying for casual but the strange woman wrinkles her nose and his mom’s expression turns dour. They spend an indeterminate length of time explaining to him about a different camp, a camp for troubled youth. It’s his Dad who actually tells him what exactly is up.

“You’re not going with your sister to camp, Venus.” He says, voice heavy and blunt. “You’re going to this other camp. It’ll be good for you.”

“This is… this is horse shit!” Venus says and it’s the first time he’s ever swore, ever in his life.

The strange woman stands up and places a hand on his shoulder, her skin is hot and threatens to burn right through his t-shirt. “I know this is difficult. But if you just try, just make an effort, you can graduate to the better camp next year. You’re just not ready, son.”

Venus jerks away, the word “son” burns worse than her hand. “But I’ve  _ been  _ trying, I’ve  _ made  _ efforts! Ask my parents or, or, or I can show you!”

“Venus.” His mom’s quiet voice cuts through his racing thoughts. “This isn’t your choice to make and it’s for the best. Be a good boy and obey.”

**Author's Note:**

> Write me a comment? <3  
> Don't forget to be wicked ;-)


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